THE PLOVER TRIBE 



2259 



Curlews and 

 Whimbrels 



COMMON CURLEW. 



half, the metatarsus is covered with large scutes, and they are defined by this 

 feature, coupled with 

 the circumstance that 

 the long beak is so 

 arched that the chord drawn from 

 the base to the tip will pass below 

 the inferior border of the lower man- 

 dible. The curlews have moderately- 

 long and slender necks, with the 

 beak generally longer than the meta- 

 tarsus, although this is not the 

 case with the Eskimo whimbrel 

 (Numenius borealis} and the least 

 whimbrel (A^. minutus). In the 

 legs a large portion of the tibia is 

 devoid of feathers, and there is a 

 small first toe. As a rule, only the 

 lower portion of the front of the 

 metatarsus is covered with scutes, 

 but in the least whimbrel this seg- 

 ment of the leg is thus protected on 



all sides. The wings are moderate and pointed, with the first quill the longest, 

 and the tail is squared. The plumage is colored with various shades of brown and 

 buff, producing a mottled appearance, recalling that of the thicknees, and is evi- 

 dently adapted for protective resemblance. With the exception of the two species 

 above mentioned, all the curlews have pale bars on the inner webs of their primary 

 quills. Curlews are represented by nine species, two of which have well-marked 

 local varieties; and during the breeding season are confined to North America, 

 Europe, North Africa, and Asia north of the Himalayas, although in winter they 

 have a cosmopolitan range. 



The common European curlew (A 7 ", arquatus} is a large bird meas- 

 uring from twenty -one to twenty-six inches in length, which may be 

 diagnosed by its metatarsus exceeding three inches in length, and by 

 the lower back and rump being much paler in color than the remainder of the up- 

 per parts. In the breeding plumage of the adult male the general hue of the upper 

 parts is pale brown, shading into white on the wing coverts, each feather having a 

 dark brown centre; the under parts are white, tinged on the neck and breast with 

 pale brown, where the feathers are also streaked with dark brown. The rump is 

 white; the tipper tail coverts are white or whitish, streaked or barred with brown, 

 the quills dark brown with white bars, and the tail feathers white or whitish with 

 dark brown bars. The beak is dark brown, and the legs and feet are slaty gray. 

 This species is resident in the British Islands, whence it extends as far east as the 

 Caspian, beyond which the typical form is replaced by a paler variety, which ranges 

 into Eastern Siberia and Amurland. The breeding range extends from the confines 

 of the Arctic Circle to Holland, and while the migratory individuals of the 



Various 

 Species 



